Edward VII, full name Albert Edward, was the king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British dominions and emperor of India from 1901 until his death in 1910.
Katharine Hepburn was an American actress.
Jane Bixby Weller was educated at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, Illinois and Cooper Union in NYC. She worked as a fashion illustrator, producing work for such clients as Marshall Field & Co. and Saks Fifth Ave., among many others. Her illustrations were used by numerous major advertising agencies in the US and abroad and her editorial illustrations appeared in Harper's Bazaar and Vogue. Book illustrations by Weller were used publishing houses like Bantam Books, Avon, and Harcourt Brace & Co. During her career, Weller was recognized with numerous awards from the Chicago Art Directors Club, the NY Art Directors Club, and the Society of Illustrators. In 2001 she was included in the Society of Illustrators' exhibit "Woman Illustrators in America" and in the 2010 exhibit "The Line of Fashion." Weller's work is also included in the Society's Permanent Collection. Weller taught at the Parsons School of Design and retired after a long career as an educator at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Born in Italy in 1890 into a family of bureaucrats and scholars, Elsa Schiaparelli fled Rome to avoid her family's pressure to marry a Russian aristocrat at age 23. The following year she would impulsively marry a spiritualist philosopher within days of their meeting, eventually moving to the United States where her only daughter "Gogo" was born in 1920. Schaiparelli divorced and returned to Europe, settling in Paris in 1922. On the crossing ocean voyage, Schiaparelli developed a friendship with Gabrielle Picabia, wife of the Dada painter Francis Picabia, which would lead to decades long friendships and collaborations with artists working in the Dada and surrealist movements, including Salvador Dali and Jean Cocteau. At the encouragement of Paul Poiret, Schiaparelli began freelancing as a fashion designer and in 1927, she opened a small fashion atelier, initially focusing on knitwear. Within five years the house of Sciaparelli was a full-fledged couture house with more than 400 employees on the payroll. She was renowned for her unique brand of "hard chic" which also frequently incorporated witty and whimsical imagery. Her collections were often thematic, and she was well known for her prints, hand-embroidery and exquisite sequin work, both executed by Lesage. The house of Schiparelli remained open during the German occupation under the direction of Irene Dana, while Schiaparelli herself took refuge in the United States, volunteering as a nurse at Belleview Hospital in New York City. Anxious to return to France at the end of the war, news reports note that Schiaparelli was one of the first designers in exile to return to Paris, where she reassumed the directorship of her house, which remained open until December 1954. After this time, many products bearing the Schiaparelli label, such as sweaters and millinery continued to be produced under licensing agreements.
William Randolph Hearst was an American businessman and politician with influences in newspaper publishing, radio broadcasting, and television. He was also elected to the US House of Representatives as a Congressman from New York in 1902.
Francisco Goya was a Spanish painter whose work includes paintings, drawings, and engravings.
Lucile Ltd. was a British fashion house originally opened under the name "Maison Lucile" by dressmaker Lucy Christiana, Lady Duff-Gordon in 1894. By 1900, the fashion house was seen as one of the great couture houses of London. In 1910, the Lucile Ltd. brand expanded with a branch opening in New York. A further salon was established in Paris in 1912, as well as a branch in Chicago in 1915. Romantic and provocatively sexy, Lucile Ltd's lingerie is considered heavily influential in the fashion industry as it has shifted the public perception of undergarments from a necessity to a luxury.
Naomi Sims was an American model and businesswoman who became the first Black model to appear on a mainstream magazine, Ladies' Home Journal, in 1968. She became one of the first Black women to reach supermodel status, a position that held severe barriers of entry to Black women. Sims earned a scholarship in 1966 to study merchandising and textile design at the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she was encouraged by a counselor to pursue a career in modeling. After many rejections due to her skin color, Sims signed with Wilhelmina Cooper, who at the time was just forming her own modeling agency. Following this, she began booking jobs including cover appearance on Life and Cosmopolitan magazine, and runway modeling for various top designers. She was named Model of the Year in 1969 and 1970 and was inducted into the Modeling Hall of Fame, International Mannequins in 1977.
In 1972, Sims turned down the leading role to the film Cleopatra Jones, as she felt the representation of Black people in it was racist. She retired from modeling in 1973 and launched her own wig collection, Naomi Sims Collection, to replicate the look of straightened Black hair. She also created her own signature fragrance in 1981, and launched Naomi Sims Beauty Products Ltd. in 1985. She has also since written several books on health and beauty for Black women, and a book on modeling.
Lee Miller was an American photographer, surrealist artist, and model. Miller began her career in 1926 as a model, handpicked by Condé Nast to be a model at Vogue. She moved to Paris in 1929 and began working for photographer Man Ray, and established her own studio. She photographed many French artists including Paul Éluard, Pablo Picasso, Max Ernst, and Joan Miró. She returned to New York in 1932, opening up her studio up once again, doing celebrity portraiture, surrealist photographs, and advertising work. She also continued to model for and began photographing for Vogue. She closed her studio two years later after she married and moved to Cairo, Egypt. In 1939, she moved to London and began work as a freelance photographer and later in 1943, a war correspondent, for Vogue.
Le Corbusier was a Swiss-born French architect.
Christian Menn was a Swiss engineer most well known for the technical and aesthetic quality of his bridges.
Louis Lozowick was a Russian-American artist and illustrator.
Wheeler Williams was an American sculptor, and co-founder and president of the American Artist Professional League.
Valentina Sanina Schlee, known professionally as Valentina, was a Ukrainian-American fashion designer. She opened a small couture dress house, Valentina’s Gowns, in New York in 1928. Her clientele included those in the theatre, opera, ballet, society, and film, and she established a reputation for herself as a theater costume designer in 1933.
Andy Warhol was an American artist, photographer, and illustrator.
Carle Vernet was a French painter most well known for his works of battle scenes for Napoleon I and sporting scenes for King Louis XVIII.
Mats Gustafson (Swedish, b. 1951) began his career as an illustrator in the late 1970s, a time when editorial illustration was eclipsed by photography, and watercolor as a conceptual medium had barely been explored. A graduate of Dramatiska Institutet (University College of Film, Radio, Television and Theatre) in Stockholm, he first applied his graphic sensibility to the art of stage design. This experience translated into illustration when he began publishing his work in eminent international fashion publications. The elegant and subtly expressive character of Gustafson's watercolor, pastel and cut-out paperworks expanded the possibilities of fashion illustration and nearly single-handedly reinvigorated the genre. Gustafson’s fashion and portrait illustrations have been included in editorial publications such as French and Italian Vogue, The New Yorker, and Visionaire, and he has created advertising art for Hermès, Tiffany & Co., Yohji Yamamoto, and Comme des Garçons. His work has been exhibited internationally in solo and group shows. Gustafson lives in New York.
Jeanette Jarnow started out as coordinator of the FIT Merchandising Department in September 1956. In the early 60s, she was promoted to chairperson of the department. She held that position until 1986 when she retired and went back to full time teaching.
Eleanor Fried was born in 1913 in New York City. At age two, her family moved to Long Island. She graduated from Barnard College in 1933. Fried joined the Fashion Institute of Technology (New York, N.Y.) in 1947, leaving her previous position in the New York State Employment Service. She was Director of Placement from 1947 - 1973. After retiring, she was given the title Professor Emeritus.
Martha Stewart is an American entrepreneur and businesswoman. She is the founder of media and home-furnishing corporation, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc.
Anna Wintour is a British-American journalist and the current editor-in-chief of American Vogue magazine, and the artistic director at Condé Nast. After first moving to New York, Wintour started as a junior fashion editor at Harper's Bazaar, and later worked at publications such as Viva, Savvy, and New York Magazine. She was then chosen by Alex Liberman to be the creative director of American Vogue. In 1985, Wintour became editor-in-chief of British Vogue, but left the position in 1987 on her return to New York. She succeeded Grace Mirabella as the editor-in-chief at Vogue in 1988.
Clifton R. Wharton Jr. is an economist and corporate executive and was the first African-American president of Michigan State University in 1970.
Anne Klein was an American fashion designer. Klein began working in the garment industry right out of high school, where within the year, she began working at Varden Petites. There she redesigned the company's line and introduced a new style of ready-to-wear clothing for young smaller-built women, which would later become know as the "Junior Miss" category. In 1948, she married clothing manufacturer Ben Klein and became principal designer of his new company, Junior Sophisticates. She and her husband later divorced in 1960, which prompted Klein to open up her own design studio in 1963 where she specialized in redesigning the failing clothing lines of other companies. Her company, Anne Klein and Company opened in 1968 where she acted as director and co-owner.
Annie Leibovitz is an American portrait photographer and has done significant work for publications including Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair.
Aerin Lauder is the granddaughter of Estée and Joseph Lauder, founders of the cosmetics firm Estée Lauder. She currently serves as the style and image director at the firm, and has previously served as a board member from 2004 to 2006. In 2012, she founded luxury lifestyle brand AERIN.
Fern Mallis is a fashion consultant and creator of New York Fashion Week (originally called ‘Seventh on Sixth’). From 1991-2001, Mallis was the executive director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). In 1993, she began the initiative to organize Seventh on Sixth, where American fashion designers to display their clothing in a centralized manner. After NYFW was acquired by IMG in 2001, Mallis became a senior vice president and ambassador at IMG Fashion, through which she was able to expand and add fashion weeks to other cities including Los Angeles, Melbourne, Miami, and Berlin. She left IMG in 2010 and now runs her own fashion consulting business, Fern Mallis LLC.
Fernando Sanchez was a Spanish fashion designer. Sanchez started his own company in 1974 and designed nightwear resembling lingerie. Prior to starting his own company, he worked at Dior and as design assistant at Yves Saint Laurent.
Vera Wang is an American fashion designer specializing in bridal wear. Wang got her start in fashion working at Vogue magazine in 1971. She eventually became the senior fashion editor, a title she held for 15 years. In 1987, she left the publication to take a job as a design director for accessories at Ralph Lauren. She opened her bridal boutique in 1990, after designing her own wedding dress the year prior. Her boutique first offered designs from brands including Dior and Carolina Herrera until Wang was able to hone her skills as a fashion designer and create her own signature collection a few years later. Further expansion of her brand includes elegant evening wear, a fragrance, a wedding guide, home products, and an affordable ready-to-wear line with Kohl's called Simply Vera.
Baron Wolman is an American photographer most well known for his work in music photography for Rolling Stone, for which he was their first staff photographer.
Louis XVI, born Louis Auguste de France, was the last king of France, ruling from 1774 to 1792. Succeeding the crown at only 20 years old, Louis XVI was unequipped to rule due to his inexperience and shy nature. He and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were executed in 1793 following the French Revolution in 1789.
Marie Antoinette, born Maria Antonia Josepha Joanna, was the last queen of France, ruling from 1774 to 1792. Married at only 14 years old, and becoming the queen at 19, Antoinette's rule acted as a provocateur in the public unrest and lead to the French Revolution and eventual overthrow of the French monarchy. She and her husband, Louis XVI, were executed in 1793.
Mary Edwards Walker was a women’s rights advocate, abolitionist, and spy. She was the first female U.S. Army surgeon during the Civil War, and the only woman to receive the Presidential Medal of Honor.
Elsa Peretti is an Italian jewelry designer. Peretti started as a fashion model in New York and Barcelona, and began designing her own jewelry. In 1974, she began working for Tiffany & Co. as a silver designer. In the early 1980s, her collections for Tiffany were expanded to include china, crystal and silver designs for the home. She celebrated her 25th anniversary with Tiffany in 1999, and the company established the Elsa Peretti Professorship in Jewelry Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology, the first endowed professorship in the history of FIT, in recognition of her work. In 2001, Peretti was given an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from FIT.
Jane Trahey was an American businesswoman and writer, and one of the first women in the United States to own and manage a major advertising firm, Trahey Advertising.
Man Ray, born Emmanuel Radnitzky, was a Jewish American visual artist, most known for his Surrealist photography.
Gypsy Lee Rose was an American entertainer and burlesque artist.
Mary "May" Morris was an embroidery and jewelry designer and maker. She was the youngest daughters of William Morris, the creator of home furnishings company Morris & Co. In 1885, she took over the embroidery section of Morris & Co. from her father. Prior to officially joining the company, she had contributed some designs to the firm, but from that point on, all embroidery designs were done by herself and her assistant, John Henry Dearle. She ran the embroidery section until her father's death in 1986 and continued to act in an advisory role. Following her departure, Morris became heavily involved in the Arts and Crafts scene in London. She designed jewelry, and wrote a play in 1903 titled White Lies. She was a published author of articles and a book on embroidery, Decorative Needlework. She also lectured as an advisor and teacher at the Central School of Arts & Crafts and at Birmingham, and had an American tour in 1910. She was a regular exhibitor at the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, and in 1907 she was a co-founder of the Women’s Guild of Arts.
Esther "Esta" Nesbitt was an American artist, well known as a fashion illustrator for various leading publications including Harpers Bazaar, Mademoiselle, and the New York Times Magazine.
James Galanos was an American fashion designer whose clientele consisted of famous individuals. After studying at Traphagen School of Fashion, Galanos worked as an assistant to designer Hattie Carnegie, and interned in Paris for couturier Robert Piguet. He then relocated to Los Angeles, where he worked as a sketcher for Jean Louis, a costume designer at Columbia Pictures. Galanos started his company Galanos Originals in 1950, and designed formalwear for clients including Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, and Jacquline Kennedy. Galanos designed Grace Kelly's wedding dress for her wedding to Rainier III, prince of Monaco in 1956, and most famously created dresses for Nancy Reagan.
Nancy Cunanrd was an English poet, publisher, heiress, and radical activist.
Ronald Reagan was an American actor and politician. He served as the governor of California from 1967-1975, and was the 40th president of the United States from 1981-1989.
Lygia Pape was a Brazilian artist working in mediums including sculpture, engraving, painting, drawing, performance, filmmaking, video and installation art. She was a prominent member of the Concrete and Neo-Concrete movements.
Gertrude Lawrence was an English actress who starred in plays, musicals, and film.
Alexander Liberman was a Russian-American sculptor, painter, and photographer.
Rem Koolhaas is a Dutch architect.
Bob Moog was an engineer, pioneer of electronic music, and creator of the Moog synthesizer.
Wiener Werkstätte was an artist collective founded by architect Josef Hoffmann, graphic designer and painter Koloman Moser, and their patron Fritz Waerndorfer. Their aim was to produce high-quality craftwork to fulfill all manner of everyday needs including furniture, houseware, apparel, and works of architecture. They sought to minimize the gap between designers and consumers.
Steven Stipelman is a fashion illustrator and a professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology. He has previously worked as a staff illustrator at Henri Bendel and was a fashion artist at Women's Wear Daily for 25 years.
Bergdorf Goodman began as a custom tailoring shop in 1901, named such after Edwin Goodman (1876-1953) bought out his partners in what had previously been the tailoring firm of Bergdorf and Voigt. Goodman had acquired a reputation for immaculate tailoring and an inspired understanding of cut and materials. Bergdorf Goodman expanded into ready-to-wear in 1923, but continued to offer custom clothing and millinery well into the 1960s. It was one of the last department stores to offer this service, indicative of the very wealthy clientele who favored Bergdorf Goodman and placed orders from around the globe. Primary couturier to New York society, Edwin Bergman and the Bergdorf Goodman custom salon also outfitted international royalty, Broadway and Hollywood stars, and the elites of Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and the West Coast, many of whom spent $100,000/year in the store. Bergdorf Goodman was known for the immaculate craftsmanship of its clothes, and later for furs.
The custom salon was never strictly profitable for Bergdorf Goodman because of the high cost of labor and materials, and the cost of research and buying trips to Paris and Italy. A 1951 Business Week article on the department store reported that the custom salon “has not made money since 1929.” The salon employed 3 top-notch designers, 115 dressmakers, 55 tailors, 14 dressers, a “string of saleswomen, models, and assistants,” not to mention the sketch-makers and watercolorists who produced the sketches that comprise most of this collection. But this boutique service raised the profile of the department store and the house designers who worked in the custom salon also contributed designs for Bergdorf Goodman’s ready-to-wear collection. Edwin Goodman has been credited with extending the construction techniques of higher-end garments (deep hems and cutting on the true bias) to ready-to-wear, and raising the standards for the mass manufacture of clothing in the United States.
Andrew Goodman (1907-1993) succeeded his father as President of the store in 1951 on the occasion of the store’s 50th anniversary, and remained active until 1975, three years after it became part of the Broadway-Hale department store chain. Bergdorf Goodman subsequently became a division of the Neiman Marcus group. The store has been at its present location at 58th Street and Fifth Avenue since 1928. Unlike other department stores, Bergdorf Goodman never expanded to include branches in the suburbs.
Bergdorf Goodman Inc. is a luxury goods department store based on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The company was founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and was later owned and managed by Edwin Goodman, and later his son Andrew Goodman.
Dorothy Jeakins was an Academy-award winning costume designer. She started her career as an illustrator at Disney Studios and eventually went on to work in costume design for numerous films including her award-winning work in Joan of Arc, Samson and Delilah, and The Night of the Iguana.
Joe Zee is a Hong Kong-born Canadian fashion stylist and the Editor-in-Chief and Executive Creative Director at Yahoo! Style. Zee is a FIT alum and broke into the industry as Polly Mellen's assisstant at Allure magazine, where he later went on to become the magazine's market editor. He has also formerly been the fashion director at W magazine and creative director of the American edition of Elle magazine.